Jay Bennett - Magnificent Defeat
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Jay BennettEdition: Music CD
Audio: German (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2006-09-26
Music Label: Rykodisc
Soundtracks:
- Slow Beautifully Seconds Faster
- 5th Grade
- Wide Open
- The Palace At 4 AM
- Replace You
- Out All Night
- Thank You
- Phone Book
- Overexcusers
- Survey The Damage
- Butterfly
- I'm Feelin' Fine
- Good As Gold
Free Music Notes for Magnificent Defeat
Free Music Review: Another chapter in the ongoing saga
Hit: 5 Stars
It is nearly impossible to write a review of Jay Bennett's latest effort, or any Jay Bennett release for that matter, without referring in some way, however tangentially it may be, to his background in and dismissal from the pioneering roots-rock ensemble Wilco. In fact, it is nearly impossible to write a review of this album without delving into the whole drama-ridden scene, specifically the irony surrounding Jeff Tweedy's swift dismissal of Bennett when he himself was unceremoniously dumped by former bandmate Jay Farrar when Mr. Farrar decided that Uncle Tupelo (yes, another pioneering roots-rock ensemble) had run its course. For those of you who don't know what I am talking about but have nonetheless stumbled on this album, GOOD FOR YOU, ignore the first paragraph of my review and please enjoy the album! But I suspect that very few people who would care about the release of the album do not know this story, and to me it's a sad thing.
Bennett may or may not have gotten a raw deal after Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was released. Jeff Tweedy may or may not have been a control-freak, and Bennett may or may not have been emotionally needy. All of this is up for debate among the few and proud who care. But this album is proof that the few hangers-on who still want to think about that debate should DROP IT AND MOVE ON. Bennett has truly come into his own as an artist here, and more power to him. This disc is every bit as good as anything I have heard so far this year, and holds its own against each and every Wilco album released thus far. I am saying this with full awareness that Wilco is currently my favorite band.
Yet I cannot help but describe it by providing an unlikely comparison with a Wilco release, and it's not Summerteeth (yeah it has the same overall power-poppy sound and keyboards, etc etc, I hear that too). The disc of which I speak is Wilco's first release, the underrated A.M. That was by all accounts a breakup album, with songs that were on their surface about relationships with girls. Yet underneath the surface (and you don't need to scratch very far) is a letter to Jay Farrar, bemoaning the loss of a friendship with a mixture of anger and regret. The Magnificent Defeat follows what seems to be a similar pattern. A lot of these songs focus on past relationships, and display this same emotional confusion; Bennett is by turns bitter and regretful, as quick to bemoan the loss at to to say "good riddance." Which is, in actual fact, how a breakup of any kind often feels (at least to me). It is unclear whether this album's emotional drive was prompted by Bennett's recent divorce, or by leftover feelings of hurt and loss from the Wilco ouster. It doesn't matter though. The sentiments are very real, and this is what counts.
Plus this album shares with A.M. a sense of rollicking fun. There are a lot of rockers here, tracks such as "Replace You" that sound great on the car stereo and are pretty funny too (in a sad way). But then there are moments of quiet, contemplative beauty like "Survery the Damage," which is my personal favorite track. Here Bennett drops the shouting and the gravelly snarl to sing very straightforwardly about a relationship he didn't want to end. It's a truly classic pop-rock moment of a kind I rarely find anymore. There is also a real debt owed to Elvis Costello, as other reviewers in various publications have noted. Yet it's hardly theft or plagiarism. Yes his voice has the same bite and snarl when shouting, and the lyrics are suitably complex and intricate, but Bennett makes these qualities his own here. To say that this disc sounds like Elvis Costello fronting Summerteeth-era Wilco is a vast oversimplification which neglects the elements that make Bennett's work unique and personal.
For those of you new to the artists I have mentioned above who have stuck with this review, I will summarize by saying that this album is emotionally honest and direct without being self-indulgent, and is very, very therpeutic. It's simple fun on one level, and much more on another. For me, that makes it a keeper, like so many records which come out of this scene (the scene that used to be called "No Depression," and who knows what it's called now or how many bands are actually involved). Of all the great new releases so far this year (Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Yo La Tengo and Cracker included) I listen to this one the most.
Magnificent Defeat Poster
By now, Chicago multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett has accomplished enough in his solo career to rid himself of the "ex-Wilco" moniker. The fourth such record since Bennett left the group, The Magnficent Defeat continues similar riff-heavy, rhythm-drenched pattern that began with 2002?s superb The Palace at 4 AM. This time Bennett whittled down a prospective list of six dozen songs into 13 and whipped out an ensemble of probable players (such as Palace cohort Edward Burch) and improbable instruments, including a horde of Hammond organs and a child?s tambourine. Bennett has a uniquely nasal vocal delivery which can too often evoke Elvis Costello, but his ear for pure pop grandeur is palpable on "Wide Open," which could be an outtake from Fleetwood Mac?s Rumors, and the guitar-driven "Replace You," complete with its meaty Hammond accompaniment. Leaving more than 50 songs left on the chopping block and his creative psyche ever agitating, it?s obvious that Jay Bennett has put that former band outtasite in the rearview. --Scott HolterAlternative Rock Music CDs
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